Global Crisis Revealed: WHO Reports One-Third of Women Experience Violence Worldwide

The report highlights that violence against women begins at an early age. (Representational)

Switzerland:

According to the World Health Organization's Wednesday report, nearly one in three women worldwide has experienced intimate partner or sexual violence. The WHO emphasized that no society "can call itself fair, safe or healthy while half its population lives in fear".

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "Violence against women is one of humanity's oldest and most pervasive injustices, yet still one of the least acted upon."

The UN health agency's latest report estimates that 840 million women globally—approximately one-third of the female population—have experienced violence from an intimate partner or sexual violence during their lifetime.

In just the past year, 316 million women—11 percent of females over age 15—suffered physical or sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate partner.

Progress in addressing this issue has been "painfully slow," with intimate partner violence declining by merely 0.2 percent annually over the last two decades, according to the WHO.

LynnMarie Sardinha from WHO's department of sexual, reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health and ageing warned that reported cases might actually increase as "increased awareness will likely lead to more reports of violence."

For the first time, the WHO report includes national and regional data on sexual violence committed by non-partners. It found that 263 million women have experienced non-partner sexual violence since age 15, though this figure is "significantly under-reported due to stigma and fear."

The analysis covers data collected between 2000 and 2023 across 168 countries, "revealing a stark picture of a deeply neglected crisis."

Despite growing evidence of effective prevention strategies, funding for initiatives addressing violence against women is "collapsing." In 2022, only 0.2 percent of global development aid went to programs focused on preventing violence against women.

Funding has decreased further in 2023, following US President Donald Trump's decision to halt foreign aid globally.

The report emphasizes that violence against women begins early, with 12.5 million adolescent girls (16 percent of those aged 15-19) experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in the past year alone.

Jeremy Farrar, WHO's assistant director-general for health promotion, disease prevention and care, noted that "The results highlight a tragic reality for women and girls worldwide... in almost essentially every community."

The data shows that women in poorer countries and those affected by conflict or climate change face disproportionately higher risks.

Avni Amin, head of WHO's rights and equality unit, explained that climate change "can result in floods, it can result in famines, it can result in other types of natural disasters." These events, like war and conflict, can displace populations, create economic instability, increase household stress, and disrupt law enforcement—all factors that "increase the risk" of violence against women.

The highest prevalence is in Oceania (Pacific island nations, excluding Australia and New Zealand), where 38 percent of women reported intimate partner violence in the past year—more than triple the global average of 11 percent.

In southern Asia, 19 percent of women reported such violence, while African rates ranged from 14 to 17 percent. Europe and North America showed lower rates at 5 percent, with Latin America and the Caribbean at 7 percent.